Wire crimping apparatus



y 1952 J. R. GOVEA 3,044,501

WIRE CRIMPING APPARATUS Filed Nov. 13, 1959 4 Sheets-'Sheet l FIG. I

INVENTOR JOSEPH R. GOVEA Mt/I441 M N m, fimm kw I ATTORNEYS y 1962 J. R. GOVEA 3,044,501

WIRE CRIMPING APPARATUS Filed Nov. 13, 1959 4 Sheets*Sheet 2 INVENTOR JOSEPH RGOVEA BY 21144.4 anrmli WW,WT;M

ATTORNEYS July 17, 1962 Filed Nov. 13, 1959 J. R. GOVEA WIRE CRIMPING APPARATUS FIG. 3

4 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR JOSEPH R. GOVEA BY a vL/ J4 WrlimA BWMM ATTORNEYS July 17, 1962 J. R. GOVEA WIRE CRIMPING APPARATUS Filed Nov. 13, 1959 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 FIG. 5

INVENTOR JOSEPH R. GOVEA BY W awzmig WMM, ATTORNEYS United States This invention relates to apparatus for crimping wire, and has for its object the provision of an improved apparatus for producing an improved crimped wire. The invention is concerned with apparatus having coaeting wheels between which the wire is passed and crimped, and provides an improved apparatus of this general type.

Apparatus for crimping wire usually consists of coacting crimp wheels between which the wire is passed which are mounted on power driven parallel shafts. In the normal operation of the crimper, the two shafts carrying the crimp wheel are kept parallel to each other, and in the same plane at all times. There is. a tendency for the crimped wire coming out of the crimp wheels to rotate about its own axis so that the crimps made at one place on the wire will not lie in the same plane as crimps made at another place. Frequently this rotation will amount to as much as 45 in a 3 foot length of crimped wire.

I have discovered that by setting one crimp wheel skew to the other crimp wheel (one shaft being skew with respect "to the other) the wire crimped between these wheels is free of the aforementioned rotation. My invention accordingly provides crimping apparatus comprising two crimp wheels, eah mounted on its own power driven shaft, one shaft having means for skewing it in a plane preferably parallel to the other shaft.

The apparatus of the invention comprises two interconnected power driven shafts each having a crimp wheel thereon, one shaft being movable in a plane towards and away from the other shaft, said other shaft being pivotally mounted to move in a plane perpendicular to the other plane whereby one crimp wheel may be set skew with respect to the other. The shafts are preferably driven through gears from a common shaft, and the crimp wheels have coacting ribs and grooves, and means are provided for adjusting the angularity of the movable shaft to effect proper intermeshing of the gears as the movable shaft is moved towards and away from the pivoted shaft.

These and other novel features of the invention will be better understood after considering the following discussion taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which FIG. 1 is an end view of wire crimping apparatus embodying the invention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view at 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view at 3'--3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a top view of the apparatus of FIG. 1, and

FIG. 5 is a side elevation taken at right angles to -FIG. 1.

The apparatus illustrated in the drawings comprises a lower or base portion B and an upper portion U secured to B by interconnection of the plates 2 and 3. The lower portion comprises a drive shaft 1 which may conveniently be connected to and synchronized with a loom (not shown) which shaft is mounted in bearings 4 and 5. The beveled gear 6 engages the beveled gear 7 of the main drive shaft 8 for the crimping wheels. The shaft 8 is mounted below in a bearing 9 which is mounted in a bearing hub 12 secured by bolts 13 and 14 to the base plate 3 of the lower and upper parts B and U respectively. The upper part U comprises four corner posts 16, 17, 18 and 19 secured as by welding to the angle bar braces a which are secured by bolts b to the base plate 3. The posts are secured together at the top by plates 20 and 21 in which the top bearing 22 for the shaft 8 is mounted. The posts 16, 17, 18 and 19 atent ICE 2 have attached bearing guide bars 23, 24, 25 and 26 having inner channels 30, 31, 32 and 33, respectively (FIGS. 1 and 4), in which the bearing mounting blocks 34 and 35 are mountedfor up and down movement. The mounting 5 blocks have threaded heads 36 and 37, respectively, at-

tached thereto as by welding. The shaft 40 is mounted in bearings 41 and 42 which are secured in any suitable manner in the mounting blocks 34 and 35, respectively.

Threaded shafts 43 and 44 engage the threaded heads 10 36 and 37 and are attached at their opposite ends to worm gears 45 and 46 which engage the worm gears 47 and 48 on the shaft 49. This shaft has a hand operated wheel 50 by means of which the blocks 34 and 35 and their bearings 41 and 42 together with shaft 40 can be moved up has a worm gear 54 having an integral hub 55 which is not directly connected to the shaft. The companion member 56 is fixed to the shaft 40 and has a tangent screw 57 threaded thereon which bears against flat surfaces 59 on the hub 55. A similar tangent screw is mounted on the opposite side (not shown). When the gear 54 meshes with a worm gear 62 on the shaft 8 and when shaft 40 is moved up or down this turns the shaft and its crimp wheel 52. To avoid this misalignment of the crimp wheel the tangent screws are set to adjust the angular position of shaft 40 to obtain the desired relationship between the crimp wheel 52 and the crimp wheel 57.

The shaft 65 is mounted in bearings 66 and 67 which are secured in the base blocks 68 and 69, respectively. These blocks are welded or otherwise secured to a pivot plate 72 which is oscillatably mounted on the hub 12 35 above the plate 3, and secured thereon by the nut 73.

The shaft 65 has a worm gear 74 which meshes with the worm gear 75 on the shaft 8 and carries on one end the crimp wheel 77 which has grooves 78 and ribs 79 which mesh with similar grooves 80 and ribs 81 for wheel 52. 40 The plate 3 has leveling blocks 84 and 85 attached thereto by bolts 86 and 87 and these blocks have micrometer screws 88 and 89, respectively, which permit adjustment the screws 88 and 89 are loosened the plate 72 can be 45 pivoted to the amount desired by the adjusting screws 92 and 93 which are threaded into blocks 94 and 95 which are spaced apart on the plate 3 and which bear upon an extension 96 welded on the plate '72.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the plate 72, shaft 65 and 50 crimp wheel 77 are in a skew position with respect to plate 3, shaft 40 and crimp wheel 52, respectively. The shaft 8 has at its upper end a hand operated wheel 97 which can be used to facilitate changing the crimp wheels, the position of shaft 40 and the skew angularity of shaft 55 65. The apparatus of the invention permits changing the space between the crimp wheels to accommodate different wires, and the changing of the wheels to those of different dimensions by the adjustments provided by the shaft 40 and the angular displacement by the tangent screws 57 60 and their associated members. The angular adjustment of shaft 65 in a plane parallel to the plane of shaft 40, which is also perpendicular to the plane in which shaft 40 can be moved up or down, permits the angular adjustment of crimp wheel 77 as shown in FIG. 2. This angu- 5 lar deviation from the alignment of crimp wheel 52 and its shaft 40 enables one to crimp wires of different diameters and different characters of crimp while maintaining the wire free of rotation.

I claim: 7 1. Apparatus for crimping wire which comprises a pair of coacting crimp Wheels mounted on individual first and second shafts which are power driven by a single drive shaft, means for mounting the first shaft'skew with respect to the second shaft so that the crimp wheels are angnlarly misaligned with respect to each other, means for moving the second shaft and its crimp wheel toward or away from the first shaft and its crimp wheel, and

means for adjusting the skew position of the first shaft 2. Apparatus for crimping wire which comprises a shaft adjustably mounted to move in a plane, a crimp wheel on the shaft, a second shaft with a crimp wheel first-mentioned shaft and its crimp wheel being movable towards and away from the second shaft and its crimp wheel. I I 7 3. Apparatus for crimping wire which comprises two I crimp wheels having coacting ribs and grooves between which the wire is cn'mped, each crimp wheel being mounted on its own shaft, a drive shaft disposed laterally with respect to said shafts, gears connecting the drive shaft and the wheel shafts, means for moving one wheel shaft towards and away from the other wheel shaft, means for angularly adjusting said movable shaft to maintain uniform coaction between the wheels as the shaft is moved, and means for pivoting the other Wheel shaft to a skew position with respect to the said movable wheel shaft. a

4. Apparatus as defined in claim 3 which comprises Worm gears connecting the drive shaft and wheel shafts, the worm gear'on said drive shaftwhich meshes with the worm gear on said movable shaft being relatively wide to permit the movement of the removable shaft while maintaining the gears in mesh.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITE]; STATES PATENTS 410,611 Shellaberger. Sept. 10, 1889 2,319,785 Abramsen May 25,1943 2,538,644 Guess Jan. l6, 1951 2,700,314 Watkins Ian. 25, 1955 2,963,048

, Smith. Dec. 6, 1960 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. 3,044,501 July 17, 1962 Joseph R. Govea It is hereby certified that error appears in the above numbered patent requiring correction and that the said Letters Patent should read as corrected below.

Column 3 line ,10 strike out lane of the' colu n 4 line 12, for ."'removab1e" read movgble i m Signed and sealed this 6th day of November 1962.

DAVID LADD ERNEST W. SWIDER Commissioner of Patents Attesting Officer 

